1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a turbulence generating apparatus disposed in the intake manifold of a vehicle engine. The apparatus generates turbulence in the air flow of the intake at low speed operation to promote atomization of fuel but reduces streaming resistance against the air flow at high speed operation.
2. Description of Prior Art
Air is inhaled via an intake manifold through an air filter into an automobile engine. The inflow rate of air varies in accordance with the engine speed. The inhaled air is mixed in appropriate ratio with fuel injected from the inhalation port and subsequently driven into the cylinder. In the cylinder, the mixture of fuel and air ignites, causing reciprocal motion of the piston in the cylinder resulting in power.
The ratio of fuel air mixture introduced into the cylinder is the most important factor for the improvement of engine power. Variable engine speed creates a difference in the inflow rate of air to be mixed with fuel. At high speed operation, the suction power in the cylinder is strong because the explosive power is high, so the air is inhaled rapidly and mixes well with fuel. On the other hand, at low speed operation, the suction power in the cylinder decreases so the air is introduced very slowly and mixes poorly with fuel, thereby reducing combustion efficiency. Engine power, therefore drops.
The low speed air resulting from weak inhalation mixes poorly with the injected fuel, so fuel cannot be carbureted fully and is driven into the cylinder at the drop state causing imperfect combustion and generation of large amounts of harmful exhaust gas. For this reason, a subsidiary turbulence device often is installed near the air cleaner, but is difficult to maintain the turbulent flow generated by this device. If this device is installed near the combustion cylinder, it becomes an obstacle to disturb the air flow at high speed operation, so it degrades the performance of the engine.